Wildlife of
Henan Sheng

Primary Threats

• In Henan's North China Plain, for many years turning land into large, machine-run farms has removed hedges and field edges, cutting nesting and feeding areas for farmland birds and small mammals. Irrigation also pulls more water from streams feeding the Yellow River and Huai River, stressing wetlands in dry years.
• Runoff of nitrogen and phosphorus from heavy farming, livestock, and pond aquaculture raises eutrophication in reservoirs and lowland wetlands. Industrial and city waste lowers oxygen and adds toxic chemicals, harming migratory waterbirds at Yellow River wetlands and foothill stream animals.
• Natural habitats are uneven and mainly in mountains and river corridors. Wetlands are shrinking and breaking up as floodplains are built on, shores hardened, or land filled for development or farming. Forests by the Funiu and Taihang ranges are lost or damaged by towns, tourism, quarries, and roads.
• Roads, high-speed rail, river banks, and energy and utility lines break up foothill forests and block movement along rivers. Dams and reservoirs change sediment flow and cause quick water level swings, shrinking nesting and feeding habitat for shorebirds and waterfowl in Yellow River wetlands.
• Channelization, levee construction, and flood-control engineering along the Yellow River and tributaries simplify river morphology and disconnect floodplains, reducing habitat diversity (backwaters, mudflats, reedbeds). Reservoir management can shift seasonal inundation patterns that wetlands and migratory birds rely on, while irrigation diversions reduce ecological flows in smaller tributaries.
• High water demand from cities, agriculture, and industry increases pressure on surface and groundwater, especially during drought years. Reduced baseflows can warm and concentrate pollutants in foothill streams, affecting sensitive aquatic species (e.g., giant salamander habitats) and diminishing wetland function in dry seasons.
• Rapid growth around Zhengzhou and other urban nodes drives conversion of peri-urban farmland and remnant wetlands, increases light/noise disturbance, and expands impervious surfaces that intensify stormwater pulses into rivers. Urban expansion also increases demand for construction materials, indirectly increasing quarrying pressure in nearby foothills.
• Coal and non-metal mining/quarrying in parts of the province and foothill areas can cause direct habitat removal, slope destabilization, and sediment runoff into streams. Increased turbidity and altered streambeds degrade breeding sites for stream-dependent fauna and reduce water quality in downstream wetland complexes.
• Although enforcement has strengthened, illegal take of birds and small wildlife can persist in rural areas and along migration corridors. Trapping pressure is most damaging when concentrated near wetlands during migration/wintering periods and in forest edges where pheasants and other ground birds are vulnerable.
• Demand for wild-caught birds, turtles, and historically high-value species (e.g., pangolins) can incentivize poaching and opportunistic collection. Trade risks are amplified by transport connectivity (dense road/rail networks) that can move wildlife quickly from rural source areas to large markets.
• Heavy tourism and recreation in scenic mountain areas and wetland parks (boardwalks, boating, drone use, photography activity) can displace roosting and feeding waterbirds and increase stress on primates and forest birds. Frequent human presence also increases the likelihood of nest disturbance and reduces use of otherwise suitable habitat patches.
• More frequent extremes-heatwaves, drought spells, and intense rainfall events-interact with high water withdrawals and regulated rivers to produce larger swings in wetland extent and water quality. Drought reduces stopover habitat area and concentrates pollutants; extreme rain increases sediment and contaminant pulses into reservoirs and floodplain wetlands.
• In mountain-foothill mosaics, crop raiding by wild boar and interactions with rhesus macaques near tourist sites and orchards can lead to retaliatory actions or pressure to remove animals. Conflict risk increases where reforestation brings wildlife closer to farms and villages without effective mitigation (fencing, compensation, waste management).
• Aquatic and riparian invasive plants and animals (introduced ornamentals and aquaculture escapees) can alter wetland vegetation structure and food webs in reservoirs and lowland waters. Invasive dominance can reduce open-water/mudflat habitat quality for migratory waterbirds and compete with native fish/amphibians in modified waterways.